Amanda Bynes made serious headlines this week when she appeared in a wide-ranging interview with Paper magazine, her first in years. The chat saw the 32-year-old officially reveal her comeback plans, with Bynes planning a return to the spotlight after years of strange behavior and an eventual under-the-radar return to school.
Bynes originally shot to fame with her turn on Nickelodeon’s sketch comedy show All That before scoring her own series, The Amanda Show. She eventually moved to film, starring in a number of successful films before a drug habit combined with self-image issues led her to announce her abrupt retirement.
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Read on to recap Bynes’ career over the years.
Early years
Bynes was born in Thousand Oaks, California, and began performing at an early age, acting plays and scoring an agent at seven years old. She booked a number of commercials but scored her big break when she attended a comedy camp and was spotted by aย Nickelodeon producer. The producer encouraged Bynes’ parents to allow their daughter to audition for the network, and when she did, she was cast on the sketch comedy seriesย All That.
‘The Amanda Show’
After starring onย All Thatย for three years, Bynes was awarded her own spinoffย series,ย The Amanda Show. Featuring iconic skits like The Girls’ Room, Judge Trudyย and Bynes’ turn as obsessive fan Penelope Taynt,ย the show ran from 1999-2002 and proved that Bynesย had the chops toย maintainย leading lady status.
Branching out
When Bynes was 15, she made the transition into film, starring inย Big Fat Liarย opposite Frankie Muniz. She also moved into the world of scripted TV with a starring role on the WB’sย What I Like About Youย opposite Jennie Garth, with the pair playing sisters who live together in New York City.
Teen Queen
In the following years,ย Bynes starred in a number of now-iconic teen films, includingย What a Girl Wantsย alongside Colin Firth andย She’s the Manย alongside Channingย Tatum. She also starred as Penny Pingleton in the 2007 remake ofย Hairsprayย and as the titular character in theย Snow White-inspiredย Sydney White.
Strange behavior
Bynes toldย Paperย that it was around this time that she started using drugs, which led to her leaving the filmย Hall Pass. The actress said thatย “the mixture of being so high that I couldn’t remember my lines and not liking my appearance” prompted her to pull out of the movie.
She did complete her role in 2010’sย Easy A, but revealed that seeing herself in the movie led to her decision to quit acting.
“I literally couldn’t stand my appearance in that movie and I didn’t like my performance. I was absolutely convinced I needed to stop acting after seeing it,” she said. “I was high on marijuana when I saw that but for some reason it really started to affect me. I don’t know if it was a drug-induced psychosis or what, but it affected my brain in a different way than it affects other people. It absolutely changed my perception of things.”
Retirement
After announcing her retirement on Twitter, Bynes continued to use the platform, sharing nonsensical and occasionally disturbing message including sexual requests sent to rapper Drake,ย discussions about her drug use and accusations of abuse against her father.
“I’m really ashamed and embarrassed with the things I said. I can’t turn back time, but if I could, I would,” Bynesย told Paper. “And I’m so sorry to whoever I hurt and whoever I lied about because it truly eats away at me. It makes me feel so horrible and sick to my stomach and sad.”
“Everything I worked my whole life to achieve, I kind of ruined it all through Twitter,” she added.
Trouble with the law
In 2012, the actress was charged with a DUIย when she got into a fender-bender with police, receiving a three-year probation two years later when the charge was dropped. That August, she hit another vehicle resulting in another hit and run charge and was later cited for driving on a suspended license.
In 2013, she was arrested in New York City after she allegedly tossed drug paraphernalia out her apartment window. Bynes was charged with reckless endangerment and attempting to tamper with physical evidence, but the case was later dismissed.ย
Back to school
In July 2013, Bynesย was involved in a residential disturbance in a California neighborhood after allegedly starting a small fire in a stranger’s driveway in Thousand Oaks and was consequentially placed under an involuntary psychiatric hold for four months.
Seemingly wanting a fresh start, Bynes enrolled atย Los Angeles’ Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in 2014, though she was arrested on another DUI charge that year. She also cleared out her Twitter account and went virtually silent on the platform.
Break the Internet
Now nearly four years sober, Bynesย shared that she is considering making a return to acting, explaining that she wants to re-enter the business “kind of the same way I did as a kid, which is with excitement and hope for the best.” She doesn’t want to limit herself to certain types of roles or productions, and judging by her extensive catalogue, it’s fair to say that if Bynesย wants to, she’ll be able to make her way back in no time if she wants to.
Photo Credit: Getty / Jason Merritt
